Of The Mind and Soul
by TMNTKunoich
Summary: Set in 2k14 universe. Four sisters are taken hostage during a Foot clan attack. Saved by a mysterious batch of saviors, they are badly injured. Finding themselves lost, afraid, and away from home, they begin to watch the true magic of life take root within them; unconditional love.
1. Prolouge

…**Ok, gonna be honest. I actually wasn't going to post thus until I was done with it all, but in honor of my second youngest sister getting a kitten and naming it Klunk (I'm entirely serious here. She's a die-hard Michelangelo fangirl), I figured, eh, why not? I have three chapters done after this, and will post them if you guys like this. If no one likes it… then I'll delete it and forget this ever happened. Now, I'd like to make it clear, I'm aware lots of people have done this kind of thing before, and I am in no way trying to steal their work. **

**This was originally inspired by my sisters all being weird and fangirly at the movies. There's six of us girls in total, and we have a brother that was born fourth. At the movies, while we were waiting for the adds and trailers to be done, my second oldest sister asked 'how crazy cool would it be if we got zapped into their universe?!', and thus this idea was born. Anyway, five of us girls have been way into Ninja Turtles since we were little girls, we grew up on the 2003 series, mostly. But to be honest, the 2012 series was what really sparked what we call Toon-Crushies. And yes, I am aware of the 'I' I just put in crushes. Anyway, we all went to see the new movie, and we all immediately fell in love, I think. I'm not gonna reveal who my favorite turtle is just yet, but I will say this- I would gladly marry him on the spot. Especially since they look so real in the new movie, like something tangible we can actually touch and/or date. As stated in the summary, this is based on the 2014 movie, with minor deviations to the plot, and more of a development for characters. I'm considering adding in April, but I'll you guys decide.**

**Ok, I'm going to shut up now. Please enjoy, and leave a nice review with your thoughts, feelings, critiques, favorite characters, whatever.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If I did… well, I'd be hiring a bunch of scientists to make me a real life insert-favorite-turtles-name-here, and I'd be marrying him. But I don't. So hey.**

Danica knew they should have hailed a cab.

The morning had been fine. It was a Saturday, so they'd slept in late. After waking up at ten-ish, fighting over the bathroom, best shampoo and all the hot water, they'd had a quick breakfast and a long, hard four hour training session of tessenjitsu. She wondered how much the kids at school would tease her if they knew she was technically a kunoich that carried around a deadly fan most of the time. Probably a thousand times over.

She supposed she couldn't really complain about her life. She had a home, a nice family- no matter how much her sisters drove her crazy- an admirable education. She'd scored a perfect 36 on her ACT and 2400 total points on her SAT. She'd been offered twenty three full-ride scholarships, both in and out of national borders. Bullies weren't exactly a big deal, and it wasn't her place to gripe. She was just about three quarters way done with senior year of high school; she'd yet to pick out a college.

"Dani?"  
>"Hey yo Braniac!"<p>

"Huh?" her head snapped up from where she'd been reading something on her phone. "Oh, uh, sorry…" she blushed, just as she always did when directly addressed. Blowing a strand of pesky caramel colored hair out of her face, she said, "Yeah, what's up Lindreanna?"

Her big sister sighed, nodding at the waitress standing beside their booth, looking more bored than should be possible. "Whaddaya want, squirt?"

Her pale cheeks colored further. "Um, m-my bad. Can I just get a shake?"

She smacked on her gum. "Ice cream machines down. I just said that."

"Ok… then just a root beer, please."

"Kay, whatever." And the waitress walked away.

As soon as she was gone, Mikayla giggled like a madman and put a finger to the tip of her nose, rushing it up and giving herself a pig nose. Giving a haughty toss of her hair, she put on a terrible British accent and said "Oh excuse me, I don't think you saw my crown. I am Princess You're-Unimportant-Garbage-And-I-Rule-The-World! Bow before me and grovel, you worms!"

While Danica giggled at her only younger sister's antics, Lindreanna sighed and rolled her eyes. Reyna hit her in the forearm. "Knock it off. Its bad enough I have to sit next to you; quit poisoning the atmosphere with your weirdness."

"Lindie, Ray-Ray's being meeeaaan!"  
>"Two can play at that game. Lindie, Mickey's being a dork agaaaiiin!"<p>

"Shut up, both of you." The oldest ordered. "Here come our drinks. Stop acting like five year olds. And don't call me Lindie."

"Whatever, Big Boss." Reyna popped one earbud in, swiping a lock of silken black hair behind her ear as she flicked through the playlist on her cell phone. She took a swig of her coke. "So, what's next on our agenda?"

"Meh, maybe some last minute window shopping?" suggested the oldest, sipping her diet pepsi. "We have to be home before ten, ya know."

Reyna scoffed. "Says who?"

"Says me. Mom put me in charge while she's in China." Their mother had left right after their tessenjitsu lesson that morning, and wouldn't be back for another month.

"Pfft, whatever. Like I'm gonna take orders from _you_."  
>"You have to."<br>"No I don't."  
>"Yes you do."<br>"No I don't!"  
>"Yes you do!"<p>

"Oh who cares?!" Mikayla laughed, chugging all her grape soda in one long go. "We're all _alone _for an entire month! Dudes, we can do anything we want! I am _so _drinking soda before bed!"

"No you're not!" Lindreanna snapped. "You know that gives you sleep terrors. We're going to do things the same wa-"

"Ooh, guys! I just had a totally great idea!" she gushed, completely ignoring her oldest sister. "We should go build a bear!"

"You want to go _there_?" Danica gawked at her. "We haven't gone there since we were six years old!"

"Exactly why we should go tonight!"

Reyna yanked on one of her braids, making her wail. "Mickey, you're a _moron_."

"Yeah… building a bear is out of the question. Sorry Mickey, but no way." Said girl pouted. "But we've still got another two hours till curfew." She glanced outside. The sun was just setting, but the huge skyscrapers cast such dark shadows it seemed like night had come an hour early. She glanced at her phone. "Yeah, its 8:12. So, like I said, two hours. Any suggestions that _don't _involve stuffed animals or other children's items?"

"We should hit Victoria's Secret." Reyna suggested, taking another swig from her drink. She like to pretend it was real alcohol, but her sister had such a stick up her-

"Why _there_?" Danica sounded disturbed. "Its like number two on the top ten hang outs for sluts."

"Hey, just cuz I like me the occasional sexy lacey bra and panties doesn't make me a slut."

"Ray, I didn't mean… oh forget it!" throwing her arms up in a quick defeat, she sipped her root beer through the straw. "Can't we just go to that electronics store on third street? I heard they're having a sale on interface circuit boards. I could use one for my end-of-school science project."

"Ugh, gag me with a spoon!" groaned the youngest, clonking her forehead down on the table. "You're so _boring_! Is _learning _and smarty-pants stuff _all _that goes on in that massively big brain?"

She grasped the sides of her head. "My brain is not massively big… and I'd _like _to get an A, thank you!"

Reyna scoffed, gulping down the last of her soda. "Oh please. You're the teachers pet- you get an A regardless."

"Now wait just a minute-!"

"And besides. You've only been getting A plus pluses since, like, preschool."

"…There's no such thing as an A plus plus. And they don't even _give _grades in preschool."

"Exactly. You got nothin' ta worry about."

Danica muttered something under her breath, taking her glasses off and giving the lenses a quick wipe down on the hem of her dress. Pushing them back into place, she took a deep breath through her slightly upturned nose, and pushed it out through her peach lips. "…Why am I even having a conversation with you? All you do is insult me!"

Reyna laughed, flipping her head and sending a wave of lush, silky raven hair over her shoulders. "Cuz I'm the least annoying out of us."

"…Right. That's debatable."

"Girls, please stop." Lindreanna thunked her elbows on the table top, cradling her face in her hands, pointer fingers rubbing her forehead. "You're giving me a headache. We can sit here arguing all evening and waste the last of our free time, or we can find something productive to do."

"Why don't we go to the strip mall?" Danica asked. "Its got a little somethin' we can all enjoy."  
>"Which one?"<br>"Just a few miles that way."  
>"Oh, that one."<br>"The one with the awesome Italian place? I'm in! Whadda you think Lindie?"

"Sounds fine to me," she shrugged. "And stop calling me Lindie!"

They all scooted out of the booths, pulling on their jackets, leaving the money on the table. "C'mon guys," Danica bent down for a moment, as if adjusting the ties on her boots, but in reality was subtly adjusting the Tessen fan she kept tucked away in there. "Let's see if we can hail a-"

"Oh, not a _caaab_!" Mikayla moaned with a whine. "They're way too tiny! And they smell weird! We should take the subway!"

"…And New York City subways _don't _smell weird?"  
>"Mickie, <em>you <em>smell weirder than cabs _or _subways."  
>"More room!" she insisted, sticking her tongue out at Reyna. "And I'm wearing <em>your <em>perfume, so there!"  
>"I knew you sole my perfume!"<p>

"GIRLS! Quit! I honestly don't care either way-"

"Cab!"  
>"Subway!"<br>"Cab will be faster!"  
>"Will not! And the subway is fun!"<br>"I don't wanna hafta deal with the headache of the subway maps-"  
>"Then <em>I'll <em>deal with it!"  
>"You'd probably get us stranded in Canada!"<br>"Would not!"

"ZIP IT!" with the order, in an instant, Lindreanna had whipped out her favorite tessen, pointing it at the two. To the common passerby, she was merely brandishing a shiny, prettily decorated black Japanese fan. Unless you caught it in the light just right, you'd never know it was a steel, sharp and deadly weapon in the right hands. "That's enough outta you two. We'll just flip a coin."

"Oh forget it," Danica huffed, pushing her glasses up. "Let's just go."

"Yaaay!"

They began crossing the street. The traffic was backed up for at least half a mile, they could tell if they squinted, and so merely began picking their way around cars. Mikayla was happy to leap up onto the hoods and jump from car to car, merely laughing as people yelled and honked their horns. Of course, Reyna followed, though not laughing and giving people her favorite finger when they complained. Lindreanna and Danica took the practical way, picking around the cars, the younger of the two blushing and keeping her head down, muttering profuse apologies that she knew no one could hear.

"Come on slow pokes!" jeered Reyna as she leapt down, the updraft catching her black mini skirt, and she was suddenly glad she'd worn knee length leggings, which had been ripped off forcefully for the frayed rebel look. "Whatcha waitin' on?"

"Uh, decency, politeness, common sense?"

"Wuss," Reyna huffed, adjusting the collar of her black leather jacket, tracing one of the stubby metal spikes. "Just come on. I want a decent seat.

They'd just paid for their tickets when they heard the gunshots. The sound ricocheted off the walls, seemingly made much louder by the deep tunnels and cement walls. A collective scream rose up among the people, and Danica was horrified when a flood of men came rushing in, all dressed in black and carrying guns, each uniform proudly displaying a dreaded symbol.

The blood drained from her already naturally pale face as all at once, a crowd of at least four hundred people went screaming and running and shoving for the exits. She was shoved up against a wall, although by a crazed stampeding pedestrian or Foot soldier she wasn't sure, and lost her footing, slipping down to the floor at a painful angle.

"Danica!" for a moment, she laid their dazed from where her head had hit the concrete, and could fuzzily make out her oldest sister kneeling beside her, trying to usher her to a standing position. It took her a few long seconds to realize her vision was excessively blurry; all she could see were vague colors and moving things. Her glasses had fallen off. She could already feel a migraine coming on. "Come on Danica! Get up!" they tugged her to her feet, and were just about to run away with the others.

…But then they heard a gun click behind them, and she felt something cold and metal press to her temple.

Danica's heart stopped. Sea foam green eyes wide, she cried out in pain as someone grabbed her long hair, and jerked her neck to the right. Her sisters all cried out, being restrained by a number of Foot soldiers.

She was mildly surprised to see a woman- at least, she _thought _it was a woman- holding her captive. She and her sisters were ushered down a tunnel, down a flight of stairs, and thrown to the cold concrete floor. Her head pounded, both in the need to clear her vision and the second collision with cement. She lay amongst a handful of other people, maybe fifteen or twenty, all whimpering and squirming and sobbing, silently begging for their lives. The soldiers were big and buff, slamming squeaking, ticking devices- _bombs_, she realized in terror- onto the walls amongst heads.

The person that had captured her suddenly called out in an assertive, feminine Japanese voice, "We know you're out there!" her sharp tone was made even colder by the echo.

Who was she talking to? More hostages?

"If you don't surrender, we start executing hostages," at this, several Foot aimed their guns, making people cry out. Wait, _what_?! Danica's blood ran cold, and it was all she could do to keep from screaming when she felt a hand close on her wrist. But then she smelled vanilla, and knew it was her sister. She said nothing, but meaningfully patted the pocket of her purse.

Feeling just a tiny sliver of relief, she managed to snake her hand into her sisters handbag. Her fingers closed around something cool and familiar and metal; her spare glasses that Lindreanna insisted one carrying all the time. Never before had she been so glad for her big sister's overprotective ways.

However, as she was pulling her glasses out, her finger caught on something, and before she could stop it, Lindreanna's phone clattered onto the pavement.

"You!" suddenly, there was that authoritative Japanese lady's voice and the click of a gun. "Stand up!"

Freezing for a moment but fearing the consequences of disobedience, she shakily tried to force her legs to work, fumbling with her glasses, desperate to see again. No such luck. The lady grabbed her by the roots of her hair once more, yanking her to her feet, the gun a mere inch from her forehead, her aiding vision utensil knocked from her hand. Danica's face took on a whole new shade of white. '_I knew we should have taken a cab…_'

**Me: What did you think? I hope it was pretty good; my first story, so admittedly a bit nervous here. Anyway, my sisters have pitched in a lot with this story, giving me ideas for plot twists and whatnot, and I let them name the girls I may or may not have based off of them. When I say I based my characters on my real sisters, I mean I derived little bits and pieces from their personalities and looks and preferred dress style. Kay? They don't really act like this in real life (for the most part), and what I was trying to accomplish was give the characters a real-feel while making them good match ups for four certain boys. Review, favorite, and/or follow please?**

**Danica: There's a gun to my head and you're asking for **_**reviews**_**?!**

**Mikayla: That's Dani-Code for 'Leave a review if you want me to live!'**

**Me: Who let you guys out of the story?! Get back in there!**

**Mikayla: Aw, ok. Readers, review! XD**


	2. Chapter 1

**And here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy. I apologize for no turtles in the first chapter/prologue, but here they arrive!**

**Dislciamer: I don't own TMNT**

Reyna felt something snap inside if her. Hand snaking down to her belt, she removed her folding tessen. It was a pretty piece, with an obsidian frame, black steel blade decorated with red fire designs, with extendable spikes from the tips. Flicking it open with the speed she'd been trained with, she craned her wrist and threw it. The flying blade spiraled in midair almost like a boomerang, and caught the nasty Japanese woman in the cheek, leaving a deep, two inch cut beneath her right eye.

She cried out in surprise, her grip loosening for just a moment, surprised. Seeing her chance, Danica kicked out one leg, taking the lady to the ground, knocking her legs out from under her. Reaching into her boot and whipping out her fan, she flicked it to full extension, brandishing it at the lady and pushing her glasses onto her face. In an instant her sisters were up as well, brandishing their own weapons. Danica knew the chances of them dying were extremely high, but she didn't want to die cowering on her knees. Might as well put the last fourteen years of tessenjitsu to use.

The lady leapt back up, shouted something in Japanese that Danica didn't quite catch, and they were rushed. Danica had never liked fighting, ever, but she could really kick ass if her life was on the line.

Thank goodness her life was on the line.

Blocking a punch, she sliced some guy's wrist, grabbing his bicep and throwing him over her shoulder. Everyone seemed surprise, she could feel it emanating in the air; she didn't exactly scream 'deadly kunoich'. She was rather small and petite in build, only about 5'1'', weighing only ninety nine pounds, with long legs, a small midsection, the usual. She wore the simplest, most modest clothes possible for a high school senior; right now, a knee length flowing blue and purple dress with a single white silk belt round her waist. Sporting a washed out, ripped at the elbows blue jacket, simple black boots, and her thick, not-at-all-geeky purple and green glasses, she wasn't exactly 'eye candy'. Not to say she looked bad or was hard on the eyes or anything, she just wasn't fancy or dressed up or anything. She had a very nice face, with soft pale skin dusted with uncountable amounts of golden brown freckles, a slightly upturned at the tip nose, and wide sea foam green eyes, she had a generous amount of natural beauty to her.

However, her pretty face nor skills with her tessen could save her. She and her sisters were soon overwhelmed by Foot soldiers, stripped of their weapons. They didn't just stop there though; they were restrained, beaten.

"You _stupid _little girl," sneered the lady, fingering her confiscated tessen. She struggled half-heartedly against her captors, one holding each arm, their feet jammed down on her own to prevent her from doing any more drop kicks. Everything felt heavy, not to mention she'd lost her glasses again. She was bruised, bloodied, her clothes were ripped. She could faintly taste blood somewhere in the back of her foggy mind.

"If you won't show yourselves!" the lady yelled over her shoulder. "We'll begin execution. These little _brats_," she brought back a fist and struck Danica in the face. "are first."

She squeezed her eyes shut, hearing the gun click... but then she felt it. A tremor rippled cross the ground, and suddenly the roar of a subway train was booming in her ears. Somebody, a male by the sound of it, yelled "ALL ABOARD!"

The lights flickered and died, and everything plunged into darkness. A cry of surprised Japanese called out, and a second later, a gun fired. Her shoulder exploded with a fiery pain, and she screamed aloud. It felt as if she'd just been injected with the world's most potent acid. In response to the gunfire, there were several more shots, whether misfires or not, thankfully not many meeting their initial targets. But she heard three other screeches of pain over the sudden chaos.

Someone called out "Like a shadow, brah!" sounding almost… happy?

It was as if the room itself had come to life. She saw flashes of light, battle cries, moans of sudden pain, sickening cracks- she was vaguely aware of the lady being tossed away as if she were a rag doll, smacking into a wall and falling to the found unconscious.

Clutching her shoulder and trying to block out the noise, she felt tears glide down her cheeks. Whimpering, her legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor. She curled in on herself, giving a terrified jerk as something suddenly grabbed her by her good shoulder and rolled her onto her back. She heard heavy breathing, and squeezed her eyes shut. "N- No…" she murmured. "Please…"

Then she felt it. The hand. It was warm, gentle, and friendly. Caring. It gently cupped her cheek for a split second, and a thumb wiped away the tear trailing her cheek. She heard soft beeping and clicks of some sort of machine, and the mysterious stranger breathed a sigh. The sound was surprisingly calming, and though she didn't have the strength to lift her eyes, she managed to lean her cheek against the warm hand, a tiny, painful, strained grin managed to tug up the corners of her mouth. Her savior gave a soft gasp, and she managed to weakly lift her hand, reaching out toward him. She never got there though, and her arm fell limp halfway.

Suddenly, she found herself unable to move. She had a split second to realize she was passing out before all the sounds clouded over and she lost everything.

…

'_Oh no no no_…' suddenly, the girl below him gave a shuddery sigh, and his diagnostic diagram made a drastic change; her breathing had become unstable and startlingly low. Her oxygen levels were hurriedly dropping, as was her heart rate. '_Oh please no_…!'

The lights wouldn't be off for much longer. He'd only disabled the system for a good five minutes. This human needed medical attention- _now_- or her heart was going to stop. She was going to die. And he knew the authorities wouldn't arrive for at least two minutes; not to mention, who knew how long it would take to get her to a hospital with the city's infamous traffic? Even if they got her a medical chopper, it would be too late.

He couldn't let that happen. It was their duty, just as they'd been trained as such, to protect this city and its people. This girl was one of his people. He couldn't leave her here to die. Of course, their father would send them to the Hashi, but…

But she needed help. Not just any help, she needed _his _help, and right _now_. Not human help thirty minutes from now. And she had reached out to him, relaxed at his touch. He _had _to help her.

"Come on!"

His eyes flitted to the girl, his hand still on her cheek, free palm grabbing her fallen, cracked glasses from where they'd been hit away by Karai. "We have to take her with us." The cries of pain form the Foot and fighting of their other brothers momentarily drowned out their conversation to anyone else.  
>"What?!"<br>"She'll die if we don't!"  
>"We have to keep a low profile! Kidnapping a human is <em>not <em>the way to go about that!"

"She needs us!" he insisted. "We only have forty five seconds of darkness left- they're in critical condition. This were no ordinary bullets- they dissolve into poison, Leo! They'll die within ten minutes, if we don't help them! Normal human hospitals won't know the cure!"

"…Everybody grab one."

He let a smile slide onto his face, glancing down at the unconscious girl. Her heart was still beating, but it was slowing. Removing his hand from her cheek, he very, very carefully picked her up, minding her bloodied shoulder. She curled up almost reflexively, tucking her knees to her stomach, uninjured arm wrapping around her chest, other shoulder lolling uselessly. Curled up like that, she easily fit in the crook of his broad arm. Taking her dangling arm, he moved it up to drape over her knees, tucking the hand between her body and his plastron to keep it from knocking loose, ignoring her pitiful whimpers of pain. Supporting her miniscule weight with one arm, making sure she was tucked against him securely, they all fled out their escape route in the form of a maintenance tarp channeling up to the ceiling.

It took maybe a full minute before they relocated to the preset point atop a large building, a few blocks away from the scene. "Aw dudes, best night ever!" gushed the youngest. "We kicked some serious shell _and _picked up four babes!"

"Can it Mikey," Raphael ordered, clearly irritated as he glared down at the limp bundle of flesh that was the unknown human. Her skin was fair, and she wore mostly black. She smelled like coke, sweat, and blood, with a hinted undertone of faint strong perfume. "So, Donnie. Care ta explain why we just kidnapped a bunch'a girls?!"

"Not now," groaned the second youngest, ignoring his older brother's ticked off, challenging tone. He stepped closer, using one finger to activate his goggles, checking their vitals. "They're getting worse; this poison'll kill 'em if we don't do something."

"Woah woah woah, hold up bro!" the youngest exclaimed. "I thought they got shot, not poisoned!"

"The poison was in the bullets, dimwit!"

"Well, course of action, Donatello?"

"We have to take them back to the lair," he answered grimly, gazing down at the fragile human in his arms. She was just so frail, so tiny. He was pretty sure, even without their superhuman strength he could kill her in one blow. "I've synthesized an antidote for the Foot's poison- it should be enough to save them."

"So we get to take them home _too_?!" Michelangelo asked gleefully. He looked over the human he was clutching, dressed in short athletic shorts and a spaghetti tank top, a jacket on her shoulders. Even with her hair in her face and blood dappled on her sun kissed skin, she was good looking. "Oh dudes, she's hot; I can feel my shell tighteniiing…"

"We can _hear _you!" snapped the second oldest.

"Guys, not now. We have to get them that antidote."

"What about Sensei?"

"He never has to know," Leonardo dismissed. "We just go in, give them their injections, and take them back to the surface before he gets back."

"…I ain't riskin' my hide for some stupid chick."

"A life is a life," the leader insisted. "They deserve saving. Now let's go." He adjusted the little-in-comparison human body, and she gave a subconscious moan, and he made a mental note to mind her leg; she'd been struck in the left ankle. Leaping from the rooftop, his brothers following closely behind, silent as, well, ninjas, not whooping joyfully as they normally would after a successful excursion.

…

A few minutes later, they were pushing the sewer grate open that led to their home. "Is 'e here?"

The brains of the family shifted the girl into one arm, adjusting the functioning wheel on the side of his goggles. "I don't see him," Leonardo whispered. "Donnie?"

"My thermal scans indicted there's a seventy four percent variable there's a sixty one percent chance he's not here."

Mikey popped up behind him accidentally jostling him. "Huh?"

"He's not here," the eldest decided. "Ok, we all fall in. _Quietly_."

Obeying their older brother's orders with no complaints- from anyone- for once, they dropped in one at a time, in order of age. The three eldest, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello, each reached the floor with relative easy, landing with soft thuds and making somewhat of an effort to keep their human packages stable.

The youngest however, Michelangelo, came down with a considerably loud thump, his ninja gear clattering slightly. The human he was holding gave a whine of pain and curled in on herself.

"Shh!"  
>"Dude!"<p>

"So guys," he began, seemingly not noticing his mistake. At least he had the sense to whisper. "If it's not already obvious with the girls, _dibs_!"

"Shh!" they all scolded.

"If Master Splinter catches us he'll send us back to the Hashi." Leonardo scolded.  
>"I ain't goin' back to the Hashi."<br>"Every time we're in the Hashi its because of you!" the oldest exclaimed in exasperation, shoving Raphael's shoulder.  
>"Well bro, you don't hafta worry about me draggin' you down anymore." He retorted, giving him a shove to the face.<p>

"What's that supposed ta mean?!" Michelangelo suddenly interjected into his oldest brothers' banter.

"I'm goin' out on my own first chance I get." He growled giving his youngest brother a softer push.

"What? But-"

"He's not goin' anywhere," the oldest insisted. "We all stick _together_."

"Uh, guys, guys!" Donatello suddenly jumped into the conversation, sounding distressed. "We gotta bogey."

**And that's a wrap. Hopefully you guys liked it, but I guess I'll find out in the reviews, won't I? Do yeah, please review, favorite, follow and whatnot; if you guys liked this one, I'll post chapter 3 later today.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A big thanks to all the people that reviewed and/or favorite! And to my sole reviewer, a special thank you! If any of you guys are enjoying it, will you please leave a review? If you've got any critiques, suggestions, requests, etcetera, I'd love to hear them!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Ninja Turtles (I wish)**

A harsh light erupted behind them, and they all had just a moment to tense, before "Where have you been?!" Leonardo was knocked harshly off his feet, grip tightening around the precious cargo he carried.

"We were- uh-" Raphael was promptly cut off as he was grabbed by the throat, lifting off the ground for a short moment, before being dropped down, the unconscious human girl nearly being knocked from his arms. She gave a soft yelp.

"I- um- need ta get to my lab-" Donatello's feet were knocked out from under him. The girl's injured shoulder slammed into the concrete floor, and she gave a loud gasp and yelped loudly, her eyes flying open for a moment. He was relieved to see, though, that she was still unconscious- her gaze was extremely unfocused and glazed over.

Michelangelo was the last to be thrown down as he spouted something about sleep walking. "You disobeyed a direct order!" their adoptive father snapped. "Why did you go above ground?! What happened!" the flashlight was whipped around to shine in each of their faces, and they all averted their gazes. This was when their sensei noticed their 'guests'. "Oh no… my sons, what have you done?!"

The unnamed girl in the second oldest grasp was panting, wheezing, her blank eyes wide and unblinking. He noticed with fear her eyes were clouding, becoming white, and her skin was taking on a sickly yellow tint. The poison was working fast. He ran another scan; it indicated she had three minutes and counting. "Sensei, you- you don't understand!" normally he would never speak up to his father when he was so angry, but there were four lives about to be lost. "Poison… antidote… I... we-"

Splinter's gaze hardened, eyes narrowing, but he gave a curt nod, and watched as his four children rushed for the area of the residence genius' experiments and whatnot. He was still angered, immensely so, but at the same time, he was proud of his children. They had done the… morally, correct thing. He'd raised them to always do what was right, no matter what. However… at the same time, he'd also raised them to stay in the shadows, to reveal themselves to none. Yes… there would definitely be a dreadful trip to the Hashi when he was done with them.

"Ok, hurry, hurry!" Donatello carelessly swept an entire tabletop of notes, papers, and various electronic tidbits onto the floor, laying her limp body down. "Two minutes left!" she was shivering now, shaking, shuddering in misery. The scan indicated her temperature shooting up. Her breath was coming in shallow, helpless puffs, gasping and feebly desperate.

"Uh, antidote, antidote, antidote…" he mattered anxiously to himself, searching frantically over the seemingly endless shelves. "Copper nitrate… sodium phosphorous compound… where is it?!"

"What's it look like?!"

"Pink liquid, round base, three by six inch beaker!" no, no… no! Where was it?! "…I got it!" he held up the bottle, and all four crowded around the girls. They were all looking discolored, trembling, and their eyes were looking a bit sunken. "We're loosin' em! Forty five seconds!"

"Well hurry up brainiac!"

He fumbled to load the syringe. There was no time to get one for each; the risk of infection was the least of their problems right now. He scrambled to slide the needle into each of their necks; they whimpered in pain and tried to squirm away, as he didn't exactly have the time to be gentle and precise. As long as he hit a main artery.

He arrived at the final one, the one he'd carried… the one he'd briefly comforted. She literally had seconds left to live; her life was _literally _in his hand. He felt his head tilt on its own accord, observing her pale, blotchy face. Even though she was on the brink of death, she was… cute. Pretty.

Reaching out subconsciously, he slid his hand under her head, cradling it in his unnaturally large palm. Her silky caramel brown hair brushing against his fingers teased his sensory touches unlike anything he'd ever felt. He felt frozen on the inside. He was well aware of his body moving, but he didn't feel like he was in control.

"Donnie, she needs that antidote _now_!"

Something inside him jolted, and his thumb lifted, hand tilting her head to the side so her neck was visible as he brushed her stray hair away. He lifted the needle, and instead of (slightly) recklessly jamming it in, he positioned it above her main artery, carefully sliding the needle in, pushing down on the syringe gently.

Three. Two…

The girl gave a subconscious sigh of relief. His diagnostics diagram suddenly became much more comforting; it was working. Her yellowing complexion began to brighten, and all tension eased from her body like liquid. Then, slowly, she gave a sighing, humming sound in her throat, and leaned her face into his touch. He froze as her cheek rubbed against his palm, and he could feel her delicate, soft breaths against his skin. She turned her head, burying her face in his skin, and he could see the corners of her mouth pulling up in a sleepy, unconscious smile. He was vaguely aware of his other hand moving up, moving her hair fully out of her face, stroking the top of her head with gentleness he'd never used before. He took in her face.

"…on…?" the voice sounded far away; surely it could wait.

She was very beautiful, with her heart shaped face, the flooding of golden freckles on her cheekbones and splashing across her nose…

"…_nie_…?"

Her lips were the perfect size, and though they were chapped and dry from stress, they were the perfect soft peachy pink color…

"…_ello_…?" still so echoey and far off; somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered who it was.

He'd just reached to touch her other cheek when someone slugged his arm.

"Yo genius! Snap out of it!"

"Ow…" rubbing his sore arm, he glared at Raphael. "What is it?"

"Can we take 'em back yet or not?"

"No," he answered immediately. Again, it was like something else was controlling him. He shook his head and composed himself, going on to explain. "There's still poison in their systems- it needs time to be flushed out. If we transport them now, the stress on the body could cause a relapse, and that was my only antidote. I'd need another sample of the poison to synthesize more. And her wounds are still open; not to mention there's a possibility of a wide range of unknown side effects."

"Side effects?!" Leo demanded. "You mean to tell me this could end up hurting them _more_?"

He frowned. "No. They'd be dead right now without it." They all gave him glares. "What? I said I'd synthesized an antidote- I never said anything about a _perfect _antidote."

"So… what?" the hot tempered one demanded. "We just keep 'em as pets or sometin'?"

"No. Just until they're stable and have made full recoveries; if I monitor them, I can account for possible poisonings in the future."

"When will _that _be?"

He shifted his gaze to his only little brother. "I'm… not sure. What… don't look at me that way! I've never tested the antidote on a victim before!"

"What about when they wake up?" Raphael demanded. "And they find out they're in the sewers with a bunch'a mutant freaks?"

"I'll… find a way to make them calm. Maybe I can find a way to stimulate their brains to not send out feelings of distress or fear-"

"Save us the brainiac blabber," he dismissed boredly. "Fine. Say we keep 'em. You gonna just leave them on yer table forever?"

"Of course not. She needs somewhere to rest, somewhere _suitable_, to avoid putting any strain on her muscular and nervous systems."

"Oh don't tell me…"

"Afraid so. It's the right thing to do."

While the oldest two had a glaring contest, Donatello stepped away from the table, retrieving a medical kit. They still needed their wounds closed and treated. The girl whimpered and frowned as his hand left her, setting her head down on the cold metal. Her head shifted left and right, searching for the comforting warmth again. Her brow crinkled, her eyelids squeezed, and she gave a cry as if she'd been stuck with a pin. Her face was going pale.

"Hmm…" curious, he touched one finger to her cheek, and she relaxed. When he pulled away, her discomfort returned. Deciding to experiment, he touched her ankle. The same reaction. He pulled away, and finally, laid his much larger hand over her tinily delicate one.

Without warning, her hand grabbed onto his, her five nimble fingers wrapping around his first finger in a death grip. Her knuckles turned white from the intensity of the grip. To a human, it probably would have hurt, but her touch sent a wave of odd warmth through him.

She moaned as if in pain, and her lips parted. Her pink tongue poked up and moistened her lips, making them glisten in the overhead lighting. "You…" her voice was scratchy, hoarse, but still softly pleasant. Her eyes didn't give any indication of opening, and her tone itself was sleepy, sluggish and slurring, as if she'd been heavily drugged. She was still unconscious. He felt her pointer finger retract its hold and stroke his skin once. He shivered. "Its you…"

Then, as if it had never happened, her body went slack once again, and her arm fell, her fingers loosening. He numbly let his hand fall with hers, his thumb stroking her fingers gently. It was almost… hypnotic, feeling her soft skin beneath his rough scales.

"Uh… dude? Your doin' it again."

"Huh? What?" he lifted his head. "Doing what?"

"You totally just started pettin' her and spacing out, dude," Michelangelo said. "Again."

He chose to ignore him, and hopefully the warm feeling tingling in his cheeks. "Let's just get them patched up and put to bed; they need to rest and recuperate."

Seeming to let it go- at least, for the moment- they agreed. He carefully cleansed the wounds, trying to ignore their unconscious hisses of pain from the peroxide and stitches. They each had a bullet wound, thankfully nothing serious or extra-damaging, but they definitely wouldn't be using certain appendages for a while. He was glad, in a sense, that the bullets were designed to dissolve into poison upon entering the body; he didn't know if he could handle having to remove a bullet from a living, breathing body. Let alone four.

Once they were all done, bandaged to the best of his ability, they each took a girl, minding her injuries and bandages. He was the last to move, reluctant to remove his hand. But she needed this. Carefully easing his hand beneath her head, cradling it gently, he slid his other arm beneath her knees, politely minding her dress, lifting her up. She was a featherweight, both in human standards and when compared to his superhuman strength, so it was hardly a struggle; if anything, he was worried he'd drop her, she just seemed so insignificantly tiny. He held her close against his plastron a moment, carefully adjusting her so she'd be comfortable. She gave a sleepy sigh and laid her head against his bicep, and again he could feel her fragile, dainty breath on his skin. It made him shiver.

Making sure she was secure, he carried her out of the lab, movements fluid and careful and tender, desperate not to jostle her. This poor girl had been through enough already as it was; the last thing she needed was to be woken up. He couldn't tell if she was asleep or physically unconscious, but he could worry about that when she was stable and comfortable. He'd have to get to work on an anesthetic; as much as he hated the idea of drugging someone, an innocent no less, he was prepared to take any precautions for his family.

He entered his own bedroom, carefully shifting her into one arm to pull back the royal purple comforter. He carefully laid her down, first setting her head on the pillow, then easing the rest of her body onto the mattress. He propped her bad shoulder up on a stray pillow, then carefully tucked her in. She looked very peaceful lying there, and even tinier; naturally his bed was massive to accommodate his six foot something frame, and her frail, petite body looked so out of place… it made him smile weightlessly. He seemed to be doing a lot of that today.

After ensuring her comfort and running another diagnostic test, discovering she was, indeed unconscious, and probably wouldn't be anywhere near actual consciousness for a good fifty eight hours, he exited to allow her some proper rest. He left the door open just a crack, so should she cry out or relapse, he could hear and come check on her.

No sooner had he stepped into the living room area did he feel eight eyes on him. "Ah… perfect," instantly he was on edge. "Donatello, so nice of you to join us. And now that we're all here… to the Hashi!"

They all groaned.

**Reyna: Dude, they're so in for it!**

**Mikayla: Ray, they saved our lives:**

**Me: You two, back to the story! D:**

**Reyna: Review, or else! XD**


	4. Chapter 3

**Well, I got a couple more reviews, so that's great ^.^ thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorites, and followed. Special shootout to KatrinaSebastian, who has written a phenomenal TMNT 2k14 story, and both followed and favorited my humble little fanfiction here.**

**Anyway, here is my disclaimer, I don't own TMNT, but I can dream! Oh, and hellos from all of my sisters; they're glad to hear some people are enjoying this!**

**Onto the story!**

They'd suffered through nearly twenty seven hours in the Hashi, and probably would have been there a lot longer had their sensei's ultra-sensitive ears not caught onto some sort of sound. With no warning, his long tail whipped out, wrapping around the corner of the rectangular board Donatello was balanced precariously on, yanking on it harshly and sending him to the ground. He landed harshly on his shell, and lay there panting for a moment, before giving a nauseated moan and sitting up shakily, pale, clapping both hands over his mouth, making a conscious effort not to spew vomit all over the Hashi floor. It wouldn't be the first time, and probably not the last, but the chore of cleaning it up definitely got old. He'd always been susceptible to motion sickness, and his sensei took full advantage of this whenever they were being punished.

"Mahhh…" he barely swallowed a hiccup, forcing bile down. "Master Spliiih… Splinter?" oh god, it was coming up…

"I sense something among our guests- tend them."

Nodding shakily, he stumbled to his feet, rushing out. After a generous distance away, he slammed one shoulder against a concrete wall, both hands moving up to massage his temples a moment. Now that he was back on solid ground, his vision was beginning to stop its dipping and swirling, and his stomach was settling. But he wasn't in the clear, not yet; he was still vulnerable to a terrible ill spell if jostled the wrong way.

He heard a moan, this was considerably high pitched and weak. Lifting his head, he glanced around, finding himself outside his bedroom door. That was where the noise was coming from. Straightening up, she grabbed the knob and carefully opened the door.

She lay just where he'd left her, tucked into his large bed and securely tucked beneath the blankets. However, she'd turned over onto her side so her good shoulder was in the air, curled up and shivering. He frowned a bit; was it just the lighting, or did she look exceedingly pale? Then he heard it, she started to cough.

It started with her eyelids crinkling, face scrunching up in discomfort. Her brow creased, nose wrinkled, and her dry, chapped lips parted. She sucked in a wheezy breath through her mouth, and her exhale came out rough. Her breathing heightened to a pitch, and before he knew it she was launching into a rough, body wracking fit of harsh, hacking, high pitched and wheezy coughs. He rushed to her side, and not having his equipment available to check her vitals, having removed it for their trip to the Hashi, carefully slid a hand under her back and pulled her into a sitting position. Her neck lolled uselessly as she continued to hack, and his other hand reached to cradle the fragile appendage. After all, the last thing he needed was for her to cough up something disgusting and, A) get it on his bedding, or B) swallow it back down, have it get caught in her lungs and give her pneumonia.

After her coughing spell ended, she went limp with a miserable whimper, her body lolling forward and landing awkwardly on his plastron. As he reached down to right her, his hand came in contact with her skin once more, and he noticed she was a considerable bit warmer. Being a reptile, no matter how humanoid, he was very sensitive to temperatures, and he could tell her bodily heat had risen several degrees since their last encounter just over a day ago. He hesitantly laid a hand across her forehead, the other cupping her cheek. Yes, her skin was definitely overheated, and he took note of the bright red blotches on her pale skin. She had a fever. She was sick.

She whimpered some more, making a whining sound in her throat, coughing weakly and leaning into his touch again. She nuzzled her cheek with his palm, and her sweaty, clammy skin still felt amazing to his senses. Caressing her head comfortingly as she began more of her pitiful, wheezing coughs from deep in her chest, he laid her back down, minding her head and injury, and then rushed to get some water.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot…!" he hissed, knocking his palm into his forehead repeatedly as he scrambled to pour some clean water into a chipped bowl and grab a wash rag. "I'm such a moron… stupid stupid stupid!"

How could he not have accounted for this?! Of course their immune systems would be weak and damaged from the poison! He and his family were plenty used to the moist air down here; but with her immune system down, and her body's tendency for the drier air of the above world, there was no wondering as to why she was sick! He should have gotten her a mask, or at the very least something to tie round her mouth and nose to filter the air so she could slowly became accustomed.

Reentering his bedroom, he found the blanket had been tossed away and onto the floor. She'd curled up into a tight ball in the middle of the bed, shivering and chattering. He set the bowl on the night table, kneeling beside her, carefully rolling her onto her back. Dipping the cloth carefully into the bowl, he wrung it out, and began dabbing her face, wiping her feverish cheeks with care. He almost froze in terror when her eyes slowly fluttered open.

He was even more alarmed when he found her irises and retina had turned completely _white_.

…

Danica moaned as she came to. Her throat felt constricted and gritty, as if it had been rubbed with sand paper, and she swore there was an anaconda coiled around her lungs. Everything felt hot and cold at the same time, and there was a dull, pulsing ache in her shoulder. She struggled to regain her bearings; what had happened? She remembered the Foot attack, the sound of gunshot…

Something cool touched her face. It caused her to shiver, sending out a pleasant ripple that caused pain in her shoulder. For a few moments she felt the cold cloth rubbing across her face with care, with impossible, gentle strokes that caressed her skin, comforting her immediately. She felt like she could fall right back asleep, but she was confused and curious.

She felt her eyes open… but nothing showed up. All she saw was white, a perfect blank of endless cloudy _white_. Closing her eyes and blinking forcefully, she tried to turn her head, but found her neck to be incredibly stiff and sore. How long had she been asleep anyway? She felt her eyelids close and lift once more, and felt panic beginning to well in her chest as she came to a dreadful realization- she couldn't see.

"I… my eyes…!" she gasped out in a hoarse voice, still feeling very disoriented and unable to form a complete sentence. "Why… can't see…!"

"W- woah, easy there," the voice was slightly high pitched, and perhaps a bit nasally. Who was this? She didn't recognize the voice. Did Reyna have another cold? "Its ok, miss. It's a side effect of the poison; it'll wear off, I promise."

She took in a wheezing breath, partially from shock and partially from her sore, strangled lungs. "P… _Poison_?"

"The Foot clam's bullets," the voice explained gently. "They change to poison when they enter the body."

"Hospital?"

"Uh, n- no ma'am." Suddenly he sounded nervous. "I- _We_, had to bring you to our home. We couldn't afford to let the authorities take care of it- the poison was working too fast. You needed an antidote right away."

She gave a shaky exhale, eyes flitting around blankly. It was very unnerving, seeing nothing no matter how far she opened her eyes or which way she looked. She didn't know whether to burst into tears of relief or fear. Did this count as being kidnapped? According to this guy, he saved her life…? And what about her family? "Sisters…?"

"They're fine, they've been treated and are resting… you should probably do the same.

She coughed and tried to put on a defiant face, but at the mention of sleep, suddenly her body felt weightless. She felt a blanket being draped over her, and a hand reached down, flicking some hair out of her face. She froze, tensing, the gesture somehow familiar. He went to pull away.

"W- Wait!" he stopped, and she would have blushed had her face not already been an unhealthy shade of red and pink from the fever. "Don't leave…" she moistened her lips. "Please." There was something about not being able to see and being left alone that bothered her. When she was a child, her mother always had to sit with her as she fell asleep, then remove her glasses so she didn't have to be sightless and by herself. She was practically blind without her glasses.

"Um… a- alright…" he watched as she scooted just a few inches toward him, and her cheek found his palm again. He laughed inside; if she could see, surely she would be screaming and cowering in the corner. Subconsciously, his abnormally large mutant thumb stroked her cheek, two fingers petting her hair.

She stiffened, sucking in a small gasp between her lips. He blanched; she must notice the abnormal proportions!, he fretted. Oh no. Oh no. Ooooooh, _no_. He waited for her to shriek in fear, to yell at him to get away. He waited for the worst insult he could think of; _freak_. Was he a freak? To humans, absolutely.

However she didn't scream. She didn't yell, didn't panic, and in fact… seemed to relax _more_. She gave a sigh, melting into the touch. A sleepy smile graced her face around a few feeble coughs. "Its you…" she murmured. Her good arm lifted weakly, and shakily laid her palm on his wrist. He shivered. "You… You saved me. It was you…"

A relieved, anxious, and disbelieving grin played at his lips. "Y- Yeah… that was me."

"I knew it. _Thank you_…" she breathed out the final words on her exhale as sleep began to overtake her. "Th- Thank you…"

"Wait…" her eyelids twitched. "I- well… what's your name?"

"I'm…" she yawned softly. "I'm Danica. Aaand…" her tone slurred, and she stopped leaning; her lips struggled to move. "And… you're my hero."

**Aaaaand, scene! N'awww, cute little fluffy bit here! You can thank my sister who I loosely based Danica off of; I let her write some of this, then I edited it. Please make sure to review, even if it's just three words to let me know how you liked it? Pretty please?**

**P.S. Anyone who reviews gets a free cookie! XD (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Look, I'm alive! Did anyone miss me? *cricket chirp* aw, ok then… :/**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. If I did… well, my youngest sister would have signed autographs of the voice actors. But I don't. :( Meh. :/**

**Onto the story!**

Combined with trying to shake off their dreadful trip to the Hashi and tending their four guests, needless to say, the brother's were exhausted. Donatello suggested they be watched in shifts, and, oddly enough volunteered to take first watch. At first Leonardo figured that was his little brother's usual 'trying to please everyone' attitude kicking in. He tried to reason with him, advising he perhaps go drink a cup of tea to soothe his still-slightly-sick stomach, and take a nap. However, he was persistent and surprisingly stubborn- something that raised more questions. Usually, the genius was the docile one, that took everything thrown at him without so much as a sigh of protest and always put everyone before himself. He always wanted everyone happy, couldn't stand it if anyone was upset with him. Leo worried for him; he hardly ever got enough sleep. Maybe that was why he was acting strangely; sometimes, if Donatello stayed up for too many consecutive hours, it began messing with his judgment.

He wasn't the type to get angry and irritable when he hadn't gotten proper rest; he got a little… loopy. He remembered the time he'd been up for three days straight, locked away in his lab working on some project or another nonstop with no food or water. All three of them had had to drag him away and tie him down and force feed him warm milk while he babbled mindlessly about this and that until he passed out dead asleep.

But… that wasn't it. He didn't know why he was so sure- probably that big brother intuition he'd trained himself into over the years- but he could tell, delirium from lack of rest wasn't what caused his insistence. Neither was his desire to make everyone happy and comfortable. What was going on?

Currently, he was in his bedroom, and when Leo peeked in, he was gently dabbing the girl's face- who they'd been informed was named Danica- with a wet washcloth. She was smiling a sleepy, dopey smile, and his eyes were blank, as if focusing on a point miles away. He didn't seem very focused, but the girl gave no reaction if he accidentally brushed her eyelids or bumped her lip.

He hesitantly knocked on the doorframe. His younger brother jumped harshly, neck jerking over to look at him. "Donnie?"

"Oh Leo, don't _do _that!" he whispered loudly, nudging his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, having been knocked loose. "Danica's sleeping!"

"Sleeping- or unconscious?"

"_Actually _sleeping. I told you, she needs to rest; they're all sick."

"…And her sight?"

He frowned. "I… I'm not sure. I mean, there's no guarantee as to _when _it'll come back. The next time she wakes up, it could be perfectly fine, for all I know. The poison was some kind of odd concoction I'd never seen before- I've never had the chance to study a living specimen that was infected. Let alone one that is temporarily blind and is completely comfortable to answer questions." He turned back to her the girl, blotting a particularly pink splotch on her cheek, gently rubbing her skin with tender care. "But we have to be extremely cautious; her effects could wear of at any given moment. And the others… who knows?"

His older brother nodded slowly. It was slightly odd to see Donatello so focused; usually his attentions were spread here and there, his intelligent mind whirling and considering various ideas, always calculating, always busy. But here he was, tending this girl's feverish skin with previously unseen focus and intensity; he was thinking of nothing else. Even his words seemed to float, like his mouth and will were disconnected.

"How are the others, anyway?"

"The giggly one? Mikey keeps reading her comics for whatever reason, and I think her fever may be close to breaking. The one in black is still out of it, and the other? She's woken up twice, never opened her eyes though. Never said anything."

He gave a thoughtful hum. "You've kept them hydrated, right?"

"Of course. But the giggly one is adamant she wants grape soda."

He shook his head quickly. "No, that won't agree with her system, not right now. She'd probably throw it up all over the place." Donatello shuddered at the thought the girl perhaps being a projectile vomiter. That would _not _be pretty. A bit delicate-stomached himself, the mere smell would probably have him loosing anything he'd consumed within the last few days.

He was distracted suddenly by a loud yelp followed by a sickeningly wet choking sound, and their youngest brother's cry of "Aw, _gross_!" and s couple moments later, "_So_ not cool!"

"…I'm not cleaning that up."

"Yeah, me neither."

…

Mikayla could be honest. But that didn't mean she _would _be. She _totally _wasn't aiming for the guy when she tossed her cookies or anything. Normally she loved grape soda, but there was nothing she hated more than being lied to. It made her feel useless and naïve. Her sisters did enough of that. But when they did it, it was ok. Its just what siblings do, she reasoned. But if someone _else _was trying to fool her, that was _not_ ok. And this guy was pretty obviously a liar, very bad liar. Even though her fever was breaking, the poison, as she'd been informed, was making her hallucinate.

She still had her general sense of consciousness and sanity, but she was seeing strange things. She was fairly certain the doctors on thus hospital were giant green men with strange senses of fashion. The tech one, as she'd dubbed him, as he held the vague scent of machinery and always seemed to have some kind of monitor thing on hand, assured her she was hallucinating. She was delusional with fever.

And there was that other one that refused to introduce himself. He wasn't _too _bad, and actually kept her entertained, allowing her a few familiar comic books. No matter how much her sisters, Reyna especially, teased her for it, she'd always loved the stories. She loved lots of things, comic books and grape soda especially.

Every time her watcher, who she dubbed in her mind as Dr. GreenSurf for his 'green' skin and California style of speech, came in or out, she asked for a sip of grape soda. Every time he'd deny her, always spouting something about Dr. Tech saying she wasn't supposed to have fizz and something called a 'raf' hitting him over the head if he didn't listen.

"But duuuude…" she protested, shifting around on the bed. "I'm _sooo _thirsty! And I hate tea!"

"But dudette, Donnie says its good for ya, and stuff."

She crossed her arms, though it was awkward and strained, as the bullet wound was on her lower forearm. "I don't care. You're a sucky doctor; what happened to the patient always being right?"

"I'm not a doctor!" he protested, but there was smile on his face. "I'm just tryna do what I'm supposed to. They'll yell at me if I don't get ya to drink it."

"That sounds like a 'you' problem," she stuck her tongue out at him. "C'mon, pleeeeeaaaaase?"

"I can't give ya fizzy stuff," he insisted. "They said it might make ya blow chunks everywhere."

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes. "I downed an entire six pack of the stuff when I had the stomach flu. I held it down fine! Please?"

"No! Dudette, they'll kill me! And I don't wanna clean up your puke if you lose it."

"I won't lose it!" she promised. "Please? Pretty pretty please?"

"Nah, can't."

She pestered him a bit longer. "But why nooot? I feel fine!"

"No ya don't." suddenly his hand was on her forehead, then grasping her cheeks, turning her face this way and that. He leaned in extra close to stare her in the eye. She blinked. "You still gotta fever and stuff. Donnie said ya can't have none'a the good stuff till yer fever breaks, or whatever."

"Well that's just wrong!" she exclaimed, faking exasperation. "You people kidnap me, poison me, take me away from my sisters, _and _won't let me have a decent drink!"

"Waaah… no no dudette, ya got it all wrong!" she smirked inwardly. She loved suckering people. "We didn't"

"And how do I know you guys aren't like, creepy kidnappers or perverts or something? I've been out of it for a long time, you said so. How am I supposed to know guys are _actually _tryin to help. For all I know you guys are gonna make an evil clone of me and have her replace me and kill my mom or something!"

"Woah dudette, that's crazy! We ain't gonna do that, I swear!"

"Prove it!"

"How?!"

"Gimme grape soda, that ain't poisoned! _Then _I'll believe ya."

"But-"

"Or else I start screaming at the top of my lungs you touched me in a bad place!"

"No don-"

"LINDIIIIIIE-!"

"No!" he clamped a hand over her mouth. "Ok, ya win dudette, ha win! I'll getcha some, chill!"

Giggling like a hyper school girl, she clapped her hands, giving a mocking bow. "I'm glad we can agree."

She was ultimately pleased when he brought her a can of her favorite drink, which she gladly popped open and took a long swig of. "Mm…" she wiped her mouth. "I never get tired of that stuff."

"Sheesh, are you always like this?"

She gave a rather evil, conniving giggle. "Yeee-up." she proclaimed, popping the p. "I get what I want by annoying the snot of people. And makin' empty threats. You wouldn't believe how awesome it works on Ray!"

He couldn't keep from chuckling softly. "Well, yer good at it."

"Well _duh_. Been training for it fifteen years." More giggles, and she sipped her drink again. "…Thanks, by the way. I'm Mickie."

"Mickie? Isn't that like a dudes name?"

She gave a mock huff. "Well, excuuuse me. 'Mikayla' doesn't suit me. It sounds like a snobby rich girl's name. Mickie's much better."

"If you say so, dudette."

"I do say so," she smiled. "So… what's your name?"

"Mm? Oh, I'm Mikey."

"Well, ok. So, Mikey… that short for anything?"

"Michelangelo."

"That's the guy that painted the church, right? Mom dragged us there last summer, nice place."

"Um… thanks?"

She went to smile, but, however, suddenly, her body gave a violent lurch, and her facial complexion changed to a green that could rival his own. "Aw no…"

Mikayla suddenly could see why they hadn't wanted her to have soda. The whole can come back up in a series of painful coughs, and she spewed anything she'd eaten lily that hadn't yet passed. The taste was far from pleasnt, but there was at least the hilarious satisfaction of her 'host' crying out in disgust.

"Aw, gross! _So _not cool!"

**I'm very mean, aren't I? Sorry if that was gross, but I'm getting some pretty good inspiration from real life right now; my two youngest sisters are pretty sick right now, and the littlest threw up all over our brother at about two o'clock this morning. And yes, I'm fairly sure she aimed for him. I've got no proof, but hey. Man, its hard trying to write all these different characters and keep them genuine. Anyway, remember to please review, for my sisters sake?**


	6. Chapter 5

**Well, haven't been getting lots of feedback, so all I can say is I **_**hope**_**, emphasis on hope, you guys are enjoying this! ;) so, uh, yeah. Review please? Cuz my sisters are sick and it would make them really happy?**

Lindreanna had no idea how long she slept. But every time she awoke, her face was numb and wouldn't move. She had no idea where she was, but could only assume it a hospital. There were primarily two doctors that kept checking on her, but occasionally she could hear other voices in the background. She wished she could open her eyes, but all she could seemed to move was her lips. It was very frustrating. She missed her sense of sight. She was a well-trained kunoich, yes, and took much pride in it. She could very easily make out a good deal about her surroundings.

She could feel a comfortable mattress beneath her, and a thick, fluffy blanket, mostly made of polyester and cotton. If she listened hard, she could tell by the echo in the room that the space was about ten by twelve feet, with an eight foot ceiling, roughly. Her sense of smell was muddled with illness, but if she really focused, she could pick up the scent of soothing incense and hot herbal tea. It was a start, but it wasn't enough.

She missed her sight.

She missed her sisters. She needed to see them, _needed _to know they were alright. Her mother had left her in charge! She was supposed to be responsible, supposed to take care of her sisters, just as she'd promised her father-

Tears pricked her closed eyes, and she swallowed down the dry feeling in her throat. No, not the time to think about that. She needed to see her sisters. Needed to see them, hold them, touch them, hear them… anything to know they were alright. For all she knew they were dead. She never seemed to be able to summon the energy to speak. Every time she woke up, she had no idea how much time had passed. It was always one of those deep, dark, dreamless rests, where time was impossible to measure. It could have been three seconds, it could have been three decades, and she'd of had no idea.

The fourth time she woke up, she felt very disoriented. Her chest felt heavy and her throat was dry nd impossibly tight. "H…" she coughed weakly. "Hello…?"

There were footsteps, heavy but carefully controlled. "Yes miss? Are you alright?" the voice was calm and kind but carefully reserved.

"I…" she moistened her lips, raising a shaky hand to over her mouth and coughing. "I… wh-where are my… sisters…?" she couldn't seem to get her breath, and just the simple question seemed to wind her.

"Perhaps you should sit up, ma'm," the voice suggested. "It may help clear your chest… may I assist you?"

The corners of her mouth twitched, but that was the closest she could get to smiling. Ah… a gentleman. "Y- Yes… please…"

Hesitantly, he pulled the blanket back, first sliding one hand beneath her head, the other to the small of her back, right beneath her shoulder blades, in the center. "Here," carefully, he eased her up, leaning her against the headboard, before tucking a pillow between her head and the wall, and another for her back. "Alright. How's that?"

"Th- Thank you…" she coughed into her hand, struggling to clear her throat.

"Oh. Miss, I've prepared tea; it will help your throat, if you'd like some."

"Th- Thank you… I love tea. Don't suhh…" she coughed again. "Suppose you have any jasmine with mint?"

Leo blinked, surprised. "Its… my favorite."

"You're not serious."

"No, really." He gently set the tea cup up to her lips, and she took a shaky sip.

"Mm…" she gave a pleased sigh, her nerves instantly soothed, her throat losing some of its rough, dry coat. "Oh, thank you sir. I greatly appreciate it."

"My pleasure, ma'm." he replied evenly. "I'm just relieved to see you in decent enough health. We were beginning to worry you might not pull through."

She gave a thoughtful hum. "What of my sisters?"

"The one known as Mikayla is recovering quickly; her temperature has just about corrected itself. Danica is enduring a respiratory infection, but she's doing much better."

"And the last one?" she insisted, asking another offered sip of tea. "What of Reyna? Is she…"

"She's… alive," he said uncomfortably. "She hasn't woken up yet-"

"Is she in a coma?"

"No miss, no!" she sighed in relief. "Nothing like that, I assure you. Her body is taking time to recuperate, her mind and body alike are rejuvenating."

"Unconscious long-term meditating?" Lindreanna supplied. "Doesn't sound like the Reyna I know. Hopefully, this will do her some good in the long run."

"Quite possibly," he agreed. "Ah… miss?"

"Yes?"

"if I may, um… is there, a particular reason you've yet to open your eyes?"

She noted he sounded… nervous. That raised a couple red flags; why? She suddenly wondered if these people were lying, if her sisters were dead, if they were going to hurt her. "I would, sir, but you see, I can't."

"Why is that?"

"I really can't… I can't move anything above my lips."

…

"Alright, can you feel this?"  
>"No."<br>"And how about this?"  
>"No."<br>"And," there was the sound of pencil scribbling on paper. "What about this?"  
>"Slightly," she admonished. More pressure was applied, this time at the base of her neck. "Yeah, I can feel that."<p>

"Well," the new voice was kind but nervous. "I have good news and bad news, ma'm. Any particular order you'd like ta' hear them?" she stayed silent, her expression regal and poised, unfeeling, blank. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Alrighty then. The bad news is, you're suffering some facial paralysis from the Foot's poison."

The other voice spoke up, the one that shared her tastes in tea. "And the good news?" it prompted.

"The good news is, it won't be damaging to any of her senses and its only temporary."

She gave a barely controlled sigh of relief. "What about my sisters?" she insisted. "I want to know about my sisters. I want a thorough explanation and evaluation."

So he told her. Lindreanna was horrified to learn poor Danica was temporarily blind, but was grateful, at least, that she was alive. She allowed their hosts to explain the situation, what had happened, how they'd been rescued. She listened, her breathing silent and controlled as she'd always been taught. Even sickly and weak, she managed to look composed and regal, sitting there in bed.

"And, you're _certain _you've left nothing out."

"Nothing at all, ma'm."

"Mm…" she reached up, fiddling with the long, ice blue, silk ribbon that held her hair in a tight bun. She undid it, and her perfect auburn tresses tumbled to her shoulders. Tossing her head, she folded her ribbon. "And, my sisters are in capable hands?"

"Yes."

Even with her eyes closed, Leonardo could feel her burning stare. "Do you swear?"

"Yes."

"On your honor?"

He froze for a moment. Honor, _true _honor, wasn't exactly a popular, or often thought of thing anymore. It was sad really. But the way she said it… when she asked, he knew exactly what she was referring to. It wasn't just a _phrase _to this young woman, but a thing. A precious possession any good person must have. She must have sensed within him that he valued it dearly.

Just who was this girl?

He moistened his lips. "Yes."

What happened next very much surprised him.

Faster than anyone could blink, she'd whipped her ribbon up, hooking it around his neck like a noose and dragged him down with surprising strength. She shoved her face to his so they were nearly nose to nose, forehead to forehead.

"Careful now," her voice was a soft, hissing coo. "Most people don't take honor seriously. But let it be known that I _do_. And if one _hair _is out of place on _my _sisters, I _will _find you." He could feel her staring, intense gaze behind her eyelids. "Those girls are the single most important things in my life, and if you, _or _your comrades, do _anything _to hurt them, I _will _see to it that something is done about that." She breathed softly, and he could feel it hit his face; a soft, delicate, controlled puff that smelled like cinnamon and vanilla. "Am I clear, Leonardo?"

He gasped softly as she released him, backpedalling a few feet. "How… how do you know…?"

Her smile was empty, vacant, and he could practically _see_ another unconscious spell coming over her. "I know plenty, _Kame_. I know plenty." And she lost consciousness, slumping forward onto her own lap, limp and helpless. Her blue ribbon fluttered to the ground.

He gasped again.

**Well, there ya go! A little mystery beginning to be sprinkled in! Like I said, please review, cuz it'll make my six and nine year old sick little sisters feel better. Please?**

**And if that's not enough incentive, my next new reviewer will get a sneak peek into the next chappie. **_**And **_**a free cookie! ;D c'mon, you guys **_**gotta **_**review with an offer like that! XD**


	7. Chapter 6

**I'm baaaaaack! Not sure how well I portrayed these two, but I tried. Ive been doing my search, watching various cartoons, and I've found Mikey to be quite the sensitive little angel every now and then. And what can I say, 1) its positively adorable (and I'm a total Coker for those), and 2) well, his name is Michel-angel-o. Its got **_**angel**_** right in it; I had to incorporate that, I just had to! Sue me! ^.^**

**Disclaimer: I still, unfortunately, don't own TMNT or anything associated with them *sadness***

**On with the chapter!**

Mikey was not, exactly, in a good mood. First the strange, but undeniably hot, girl had spit up the grape soda that she just _had _to have all over him. Then she passed out again. And now, to top it all off, her temperature had shot back up.

"Mikey, you're such an _idiot_!" his brother in purple reprimanded, gently sticking a thermometer in the girl's ear. "I _specifically _said no carbonation! See?! Look at this!" he shoved the thermometer in his face. "One hundred and _four_! You'll be lucky if she doesn't need serious medical treatment! What is the _matter _with you?!" he hurriedly dipped a sponge in a bowl of ice water and wiped her face, his voice turning husky and almost choked. "If her temperature rises anymore… she- she could _die_, Mikey!"

He gasped, green face turning startlingly pale, becoming a sickly shade of yellow-green, blue eyes very wide. "Wh- _What_?! But- But Mickie can't… I mean…!"

"Well she wouldn't _be _like this if you had listened!" he snapped, sounding ultimately stressed. "Can I trust you to keep doing this while I go whip her up some medicine?"

"Y- Yeah, you bet!" he responded shakily, taking the sponge from his brother with trembling hands. "Just- Just hurry, ok?!"

"Yes Mikey, I'll be back in a bit." And the genius swiftly left the room.

The youngest of the turtles gave a shaky exhale and knelt unsteadily beside the bed. Mickie was shivering despite her soaring temperature, bundled up under three blankets, her face red and flushed. He felt tears threaten to rise in his eyes as he carefully dabbed her brow. This was his fault, he realized with a cold, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had done this to her; her life was in danger because of _him_.

"…Dudette?" his voice was thick as he gently touched her shoulder. "Du- Dudette, please wake up… ya- ya gotta be ok, kay? P- Please… ya gotta be ok. If- If you die, I… I just…" a drop of warm salt water hit her cheek, and his breath hitched. "Please… you- you _hafta _be ok. If- If you die…"

…

Everything was hazy. It was like someone had wrapped mist around her brain and dissolved half of it. Everything felt hot, stiff, and sticky, and her eyes felt sealed shut. She was under the impression someone had stuffed cotton in her ears; all the sounds were badly muffled and far away sounding. It was as if her senses were off and slowed down; she could feel something on her cheek, but it didn't register in her mind, _really _register, for several long moments.

She heard a voice, vaguely familiar. It seemed to belong to the cold touch, which was causing her to shiver.

She moaned.

"Nooooo…" her lips barely parted, turning her neck, trapping the sponge between her cheek and the pillow. "Tha's coooooode…"

"Y- You're alive…" the gasp sounding choked up and relieved. "Aw dudette, I- I'm real sorry!"

"Hm…?" she forced one eye open, just in time to register a warm drop of water plipping down on her cheek. "Hey…" she coughed weakly, breathless. "Wha… are- are you… _crying_?"

"I- It was my fault!" he wailed, bowing his head and looking downright miserable, sniffling. "You- You almost _died_!"

Everything still felt heavy and sluggish and slow, but that registered quick as lightning in her mind. Suddenly she was glad Lindreanna wasn't here; she would have thrown a hissy fit. "I- I did?" immediately she was breathless, as if her windpipe had been closed off. "Woah..."

"And- And it was my fault!" he repeated, pressing both fists into his eyes. "I- I gave ya pop, and- and then…"

"Wait…?" she consciously had to force her hand to move, but managed to reach out her trembling right hand and grab his wrist. Her skin was burning hot and almost painful to his cold blooded reptilian skin, but he paid the temperature no mind, curious as she tugged his hands away from his face with what little strength she had. His eyes flew up to hers, wide and questioning, fully expecting a reprimanding, or a blow of sorts. "You…" she moistened her dry lips. "You think I almost died cuz you gave me grape soda?"

"Well, y- yeah…" he sniffled. "After ya threw up, Donnie, he- he said yer fever got so bad, you might…"

She blinked, eyes still only coming to their half point, still exhausted. "Oh Mikey…" she pulled both hands away from his face, lying them on her chest, right above her heart. "I'm fine, s- see?" she took a slow, deep breath, and he watched her stomach rise and fall.

She shakily lifted her right hand, trembling with the effort in her exhausted, drained, feverish state, and lay it on his cheek. He stiffened, not during to breathe as she slowly, carefully dragged her thumb under his eye, taking the remaining water with it. "There," a sleepy smile played on her lips, and she let her hand fall, placing it atop his, still resting on her chest. "All better. Don't worry, don't be sad…" she closed her eyes. "Everything's s'okay."

Reminding himself she was still feverish, he reluctantly slid one hand out from under her, leaving the other, retrieving the sponge. As he continued wiping her face, he tried not to blush as her hand, no matter how searing hot with fever, curled around his. The other petted the top of his hand in careful, shaky strokes.

"Mikey?"

"…Yeah dudette?"

"C'mere…" she struggled to sit up, and he carefully helped her, pulling on her smaller hands, his free palm supporting her back and leaning her against the wall. "Kay, now lean."

"Lean?"  
>"Toward me." Mikayla pretended not to notice as his green cheeks turned greener in a blush. She couldn't help wondering when these hallucinations would wear off. She found herself wondering what this guy <em>really <em>looked like.  
>"Ok…"<br>"Closer."  
>He did as she commanded, still they were inches apart. "This good?" he whispered, voice quivering slightly, nervous.<br>"Just right." With the last bit of strength she could muster, she put her arms around his neck, leaning closer against him, laying her head on his shoulder. He froze for a just a split second, before, almost on their own accord, his arms wrapped around her as well, easily closing around her back, palms clasping her ribs. He didn't know if he just imagined her lips brushing against his cheek for a split second.

"Mickie, wha…?"

"Thank you…" she whispered in his ear, voice becoming weaker and sleepy. "Th- Thank you, Michelangelo… thank you so much."

"For… for what?" her body was rapidly relaxing against him.

"For caring about me," she said simply. "Most guys wouldn't cry cuz the love a' their life died, cuz it ain't 'manly'. You barely know me… and, thank you."

He blinked, eyes flitting to the right, though he couldn't see her the way they were embraced. "Um, you… yer welcome, dudette."

She snuggled against, rubbing her cheek against his. His breath caught just as she yawned softly. Her breath smelled like grapes and smarties candies; an odd combination, but he liked it. He felt her arms loosen, and helped her lay down. She gladly snuggled down into the blankets, yawning again.

She beamed up at him with sleepy emerald green eyes. "Lay with me?" she invited, patting the space beside her. "Please?"

He took the chance with little hesitation, gladly lying down beside her. He watched as her eyes closed, her breathing evened out, and dared reach out a hand and laying it on her cheek. Still hot, still feverish. Retrieving the sponge a third time, he continued gently wiping her face, his own face still holding a green-tinted blush. Yeah, he liked this Mickie girl. A lot.

**Ha! How's **_**that **_**for adorable fluff! Anyone? Anyone? Review and I shall give you candy and a possible one-free-spoiler pass valid until the story ends! ;) **


	8. Chapter 7

**Well, its official. Raph is the hardest character for me to write. Not necessarily complaining; I like a good challenge, but sometimes I worry I'm not doing it right… its so hard to keep him in character! I mean, I've seen so many fics that just portray him as a mindless slab of muscle… I'm trying to really get that essence, that he's, ha know, a real tough guy in the outside, but a sweetheart on the inside if you're lucky enough to catch that side of him. I'm thinking, or at least **_**hoping**_** I captured that ok, but I'll let ya'll decide ;)**

**Another thing that's official? I've officially caught whatever icky respiratory bug that's had my sisters out of school and sick in bed for nearly two weeks… ickth :( wish me luck battling this!**

…**Ya know what **_**else **_**is official? The sad fact that I don't own TMNT and most probably never will )';**

**Anywho, on with the story!**

Raphael would never, ever admit it, but he was suddenly glad his show off, teachers pet of an older brother had insisted he have a 'real' bed in his room. He was always perfectly content in his hammock, but it was nice to have somewhere to put the human, and he could still afford some comfort for himself. It was at least _something _that didn't make this situation maddening.

Now, anger was no stranger to the turtle in red; in fact, it was a constant companion, it seemed, always there, as consistent as his shell or annoying little brother. But this… _situation_… pushed him into a whole new level of anger and rage he'd yet to reach in his sixteen years.

How, in all his 'perfection', did Leo think this was _still _a good idea?! One of them, somehow, _knew_! She actually _knew_! She knew what they were! That just gave him more reason to be distrustful. Everything about this irked him. Here they were, playing nurse to four complete strangers! It went against everything they'd ever known, ever feared; these side effects wouldn't last forever. They'd know eventually. And when they did… he knew exactly what would be coming. Screams of terror, hysterical threats and stinging insults that would make him want to cut their throats out.

The very idea, the very _notion_ of someone, _anyone_, insulting his family, threatening them, it made his blood boil, made him clench his fists and bite his lip till there were fingernail indents in his palm and blood on his bottom lip. He couldn't stand the thought. He couldn't wait to berid of these nuisances. That's what they were, nuisances; they were pests that needed to be exterminated, strangers, threats in his home that, for whatever reason, his siblings were hell bent on keeping and caring for.

_Why?_

Mikey, he could see, because his youngest brother was such a social, pitifully naïve thing. Donatello, _maybe_, for the sake of his precious 'research' and 'science' (ugh, nerd). But _Leo_? He was fairly certain, by now, his only older brother had completely lost his mind. Leonardo had always strived for perfection, his main goal always to protect what was his and let nothing threaten anything he held dear.

So what in the all the _universe _had possessed him into thinking this was a _good idea_?!

Growling like a caged tiger, the resident hothead stomped across the room for hat must have been the twenty four thousandth time, it seemed. He tossed a loathsome glance at the unknown girl lying in his bed. She was sprawled out carelessly, semi-short, spiky hair in her face. An ice pack was balanced lopsided on her forehead, but that was all he cared to do.

He looked her over again. What made her so special? Why did Leo and Sensei think she was worth saving? Why was she worth risking their safety? She wasn't anything special that he could see; fair skin, oval shaped eyes framed with brown lashes, a heart shaped face, black hair with the ends dyed crimson red and magenta pink. Why were they risking their necks to help her?

Rolling his amber eyes, he practically hear his brother say, in his annoyingly perfect voice, '_It's the honorable thing to do, Raphael_'.

"Honor. Pfft… yeah." It wasn't that he had any disrespect for the concept; quite the opposite. But… but he just _couldn't _make himself stomach the idea of doing the honorable thing possibly jeopardizing their very existence.

"Mmm…?"

He froze mid-pace and turned to the bed against his better judgment, curiosity drawing his gaze. She was stirring, for the first time since their arrival, she was stirring. Oh, wonderful.

She shifted about for a moment. His keen eyes saw her eyelids twitch, her mouth move, her shoulders lift just slightly. Then she did the oddest thing.

He was pretty sure she was stretching, but it looked more like an exorcism to Raph. The unknown girl began to twist and stretch, her body bending in ways he didn't known humans_ could_ bend. Giving a half yawn, she lifted her left hand, rubbing softly at her eyes a moment. "Hm… girls?"

Then her eyes flew open, and she gave a strangled scream, shooting into a sitting position. "GUYS!"

…

Memories came crashing back into Reyna's mind, and she panicked. The last thing she remembered was the lights going off, the sound of gunshot, and then pain erupting in her left calf. Then it all went black. "GUYS!"

Suddenly, it felt like a hand had closed around her throat, and against her will, she bent over harshly, coughing. She brought her hands up impulsively, catching whatever disgusting mess her apparently full lungs needed to eject.

"I swear girlie, if you puke like that Mickie girl-"

That was all the farther he got, because she lashed out with unimaginable speed, a tessen already in hand, the blade stopping a few millimeters from his throat.

"Wha- Wha'did you do ta her?!" she managed to wheeze out around her still-going coughing fit. "If- If you laid a filthy hand on her, I'll kill ya!"

He blinked at her once, before shoving her wrist away. "Relax, she's fine."

"You- You liar!" she gasped out, coughs slowly tapering off. "Where is she?! What did you do to her!"

"_I _didn't do nuttin' to her." He scoffed, stepping back and folding his arms.

"Where is she?!" she demanded. "Tell me where she is! _NOW_!"

That really rubbed him the wrong way. She was in _his _home, _his _bed, a potential threat to _his _existence, and she was trying to order _him _around?

Oh, uh-uh.

Acting more upon reflex than conscious decision, within exactly point four seconds he had a sai out, aiming it right at her face. It was poised directly in front of her nose, just barely brushing her soft skin, one lunge away from cleaving her skull in two. "Watch it, lady," he hissed, amber eyes lit with an enraged fire, corners of his mouth pulled down in a disdainful sneer. "And _listen_. She's fine; sleepin', s'far as I know."

"Let me see her!" she demanded, seemingly unfazed by the deadly blade poised to kill her in one blow. Raph may have almost thought she hadn't even notice, if not for her eyes, a strangely intense midnight blue color, flitting to the gleaming metal. "I hafta know she's ok!"

He rolled his eyes. "Look, lady, the doctor says-"

"_Please_!" even Reyna was surprised by the emotion, the pure _desperation_, that was poured into that single word. Even more surprised by what came next; her hands came flying up, dropping her blade and latching onto his wrist. Her fingers curled around his thick forearm in a death grip, and had it not been for the pleading, tearful look in her eyes, he may have thought it threatening. "_Please… _she- she's my baby sister! I- I just gotta know she's ok!" her voice dropped to a trembling whisper, her blue eyes string deep into his. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was mildly surprised that she didn't seem to notice his appearance. "I gotta! _Please_!"

Raphael forced a scoff and rolled his eyes. He would _not _show weakness, of any kind, in front of this intruder. He shook her off, but his amber eyes never left her blue ones. "…I'll see what I can setcha up with."

"I- I need to see her now!" she coughed again, harsher this time, forcing her to bend at the waist, fists curling, coming up to cover her mouth and provide some support as her body pitched violently. Even as she was coughing violently and her eyes streamed in result, she continued to plead. "I- I _have _t- to… see her…!"

Sheesh. This one was stubborn. Even coughing up her lungs she was insistent to access her sibling. He'd never admit it, but that was an admirable trait.

Raph heaved a sigh, already internally kicking himself.

Almost against his will, he approached the bed again, kneeling down to be level with the girl. She was slowly calming down, and, fists still over her mouth, she turned to look at him, her wet eyes staring straight into his. Her eyes, her deep midnight blue pools, were deep with anger, but also… desperation. Hopelessness. Exhaustion. It was pretty pitiful.

"Hey, quit it, c'mon," he urged quietly. Not necessarily any less gruff or commanding, but just… quiet. Again, almost against his will, his hand raised, thumb roughly scrubbing away a tear on her cheek. "I swear, she's fine. You gotta relax- you'll get sicker if ya get too worked up."

She blinked almost owlish eyes at him, watching him in an almost… hypnotically, curious way. Something about this was familiar, but she hadn't a clue what. "But… Mickie…?" she practically whimpered.

"Look…" he glanced over his shoulder, toward the ball. "Tell anyone, and I'll hunt ya down and slit yer sorry tongue. But… ya ain't the only one with siblings. I got brothers too; I get it."

She squinted at him curiously. Then, as if finally seeing for the first time, her head tilted, coincidentally into his palm. "…You're a talking turtle."

A humorless smirk was his answer. "Yup, pretty much."

Another blink, and her eyes left his, travelling over his body curiously. There was no disdain, no fear in her sleepy midnight orbs, just curiosity. Wondering. How many head games was this girl going to play with him? "And you have brothers." It wasn't a question, but he gave a curt nod. "And ya wanna protect 'em…" again, not a question.

"…Yup, pretty much."

"Swear ta me…" her voice was nothing but an intensely soft whisper.

"Huh?"

"Big brother ta big sister." She leaned forward, their eyes meeting again, equally as intense. Equally as wary. Equally as wide, equally as deep, equally as dark. "Swear to me my lil' sister's ok."

"I swear," the words were a mere breeze n his lips, they were so silent. "I swear."

It was as if a switch had been flipped, and the emotion and passion and energy drained her fide, and she practically collapsed backwards, landing with a soft little thump on the mattress once more. Her upper body bounced once. "Ok… I'll trust ya. For now." She suddenly seemed more exhausted than ever. "Wha's yer name, turtle-boy?"

"What's _yers_, prissy princess?"

"I asked you first."

"Yeah, and I asked ya second; s'it make a difference?"

She smirked sleepily, pulling the blanket up to her chest. "Touché. Name's Reyna."

"…Raphael."

She grinned teasingly, raising one perfectly black eyebrow. "Well, there's a first. Ok, _Kame_."

**And there we go! Hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review and let me know what ya think of how I portray Raph and Rey. Anyone wondering why she isn't surprised he's a turtle? Anyone? Well, first person to guess my favorite turtle, emphasis on **_**guess**_**- it doesn't count if I've already told you!- and I'll pm you a sneak peek of the reason! ;)**


	9. Chapter 8

**I'm baaaaack! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and/or favorite last time!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own TMNT :/**

Leonardo would never admit it, but he didn't know what to do. Somehow, some way, this girl _knew_! She knew what he was, and even his _name_! It wasn't _possible_! They'd been so careful! He was itching to get an answer; he hated not knowing. He was the leader, he had to know all the little details, every last one; it was crucial to the success of his team.

But… he couldn't just ask her straight out. Then she was more than likely to just clam up. No; a ninja's ways were sneaky, silent, subtle and stealthy. They worked behind the scenes. And this interrogation, this quest for answers, would be no different.

"Miss?"

She was sitting up in bed, reclined against the headboard, still looking as regal and composed as ever, hair laying perfectly on her shoulders, hands folded neatly in her lap. Her eyes remained closed, as her facial paralysis had yet to wear off, but her neck turned slowly till she was facing him perfectly. Even with her eyes closed, he got the eerie feeling she was staring right into his soul, reading all his secrets, sorting through his memories. "Yes, Leonardo?"

It was a conscious effort not to wince. The way she spoke, so cool, so calm, it unnerved him. Something in her tone just _commanded _respect. But she wasn't haughty or overconfident; he could give her that, at least. "I, ah… I wanted to speak with you."

"What about, _Kame_?" there it was again. That tiny smile. The corners of her mouth just _barely _twitched, and his keen, sharp, well trained eyes barely caught it. Just this tiny twitch told him, she knew something he didn't. It was driving him crazy. He saw just a flash of her pearly teeth for just a moment, and a terrible realization overcame him.

She was _enjoying _this! Not even thirty seconds in and she was _enjoying _this! She was _laughing _at him.

As if sensing he was indignant, she gave a curt laugh, and even that was composed and dainty, raising her right hand to cover her mouth gracefully. "Oh, _Leo_…" she cooed in a voice so teasing and humored it just about drove him mad. "Speak to me, dear _Kame_."

"I…" He swallowed. Keep it cool, he reminded himself. "You are our guest. And I don't even know your name."

She giggled. "My name is Lindreanna," her smile was both predatory and beaming at the same time. "And yours is Leonardo. Now, ask me the question you really desire the answer to."

"Well, I-"

She giggled again, this time with a smirk. "Oh Leo, you should know you can't deceive a _kunoich_. Deception is our most powerful tool, after all. We live for the stuff. Now, ask me what you _really _want to ask."

"Ma'am, please-"

"Wrong again," she made a _tsk-tsk-tsk _sound with her teeth. "That isn't what you wanted to ask, either. Has it ever been brought up that you're a_ terrible _liar?"

His face felt hot, his ego and self pride wounded. She was just playing with him he realized, as if he were a mere toy, as if he was the student and she was the sensei. How did she know his flaws so, how did she know how to make him tick?

"Oh, I know _everything_," she giggled, sounding very conniving and almost… _evil_. Almost. Devilish, at least. "I know of your three brothers; Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo, yes? In that order if I'm not mistaken, too. I know of your rat sensei, your father- he goes by Splinter, correct?" His mouth fell open.

Ok, this had gone from slightly unnerving to extremely creepy _reeeaaal _freakin' quick.

"_H- How_-?!"

More giggles, sounding genuinely amused. "Well, I can't _tell _you!" her tone was devious. "There's no fun in _that_!"

He grabbed the sides of his head and forced himself to breathe, aggravation and stress alike welling up in his chest. This was just about as bad as the time Mikey thought it was a good idea to slip itching powder into each of his elder brother's shells. He wanted to scream. This situation, it was like having an itch he couldn't scratch, an indescribable irritation that he would give _anything _to relieve. It would so feel good and relieving to finally scratch it. But he_ just. Couldn't. Reach!_

And it was driving him nuts!

"Aw, what's the matter _Kame_?" she cooed. "Am I _annoying _you?"

He grit his teeth. He knew he shouldn't let it get to him. He should just brush off her words and be done with it. But for whatever reason he just _couldn't_. Leo knew that was exactly what she wanted; to get under his skin. And she was doing a damn good job! 

Lindreanna could feel it in the air, sense it on his aura; she was aggravating him. It was working. He was becoming frustrated. She inwardly smirked; she was doing her job well. She needed to evaluate him, know his limits. Now, Lindreanna was a smart girl, she knew she was in no condition to fight. And if this boy, this _turtle_, was a true ninja that valued honor as she predicted, he wouldn't strike out at her. At least, not physically. Unless she struck out at him, if he was truly honor bound, he couldn't touch her, so long as all she did was run her mouth.

She forced another perfectly haughty sounding giggle and swept at her hair. "Oh _Leooo_… speak to me, _Kame_. Ask me what you _really _want to ask."

"I-"

"I said, _ask me what you really want to ask me_." She smirked. "Ho on, ask me. Who knows? I might just answer _honestly_."

…

When Danica came around again, she didn't bother trying to open her eyes. She didn't want to see the frightening, blank whiteness she saw every time.

Everything ached. But it wasn't due to the fact that she'd been shot. It wasn't from being sick, either. She was actually feeling a bit better. Her chest wasn't as heavy, and she could breathe a bit more clearly. She wasn't as hot and sticky. No, these aches were from not moving for who knows how long? And her stomach was drastically complaining.

"Hello?"

"Oh, m- morning," she couldn't help but smile at the familiar voice. "How are you feeling, Danica?" She couldn't help but blushing as his hand touched her cheek to feel her temperature. "You look flushed, are you ok?"

She couldn't stop an embarrassed giggle; jeez, boys were so oblivious! "I- I'm fine!" she managed to get out around a grin. "But since we're on the topic… um, when am I allowed to be up and around? I- I can't feel my legs."

"_What_?!" he immediately sounded panicked, and before she could comprehend what was going on, two large, strong hands had closed onto the very tops of her arms, right where the socket connected to the shoulder, and she was all but yanked out of the bed, dangling who knew how far above the ground as the mystery guy held her suspended in the air. She yelped as the cold air assaulted her, and immediately shivered as goosebumps spread on her skin.

"J- Jeez, that's cold!"

"You can't feel your legs?!" he sounded so panicked she couldn't help but share his fear, and within just seconds she was terrified. "I'm such an idiot!" she was pressed against something hard and cool, her feet still not on the ground, and then they were running.

"H- Hey, where're we going?" she gasped, feeling utterly helpless as she dangled as he held her tightly. She felt like a doll, being carted around by a child. "Pu- Put me down! You're freaking me out! You're manhandling me!"

Her pleas were ignored, before she was suddenly laid down on something cold and metal, and couldn't help yelping and curling in on herself. "Sheesh! What's going on?!"

"Oh gosh, she can't feel her legs! She can't feel her legs! Oh this all my fault!" his muttered ramblings just made her more nervous, and she pushed herself up on her good arm. "I'm so stupid… oh jeez!"

"Hey!" she was ignored again, and she finally open her eyes. Instantly, her retinas were assaulted with a flood of colors and shapes. Vague shapes, though, due to the fact that she did not have her glasses. "Hey!" this cry, however, was full of happiness. "I can see!"

"_WHAT_?!" there was the sound of shattering glass, and she jumped, craning her neck around to look for him. Where was he? "Oh _come on_! Dammit! Now? Really?! _Now_?!"

"Gee, thanks for the support," she said dryly. "But what's wrong? Why are you freaking out?"

"This is unbelievable…" for whatever reason, she couldn't pinpoint his location due to sound; she was out of practice. Oh great. Lindie would have her head. "I have the worst luck…"

Danica was getting annoyed. And upset. And scared. What if this was some kind of crazy set up and now a potential kidnapper didn't want her to see their face?

Peachy. She just got herself into the _best _situations.

Donatello was panicking internally. And externally. So, technically, he was just panicking, he supposed. Bottom line, he was panicking! How could this be happening? Not only did Danica report loss of feeling in her legs, which made him fear paralysis, but now her sight had returned! He wasn't prepared for this! How was he supposed to tell her… how was he supposed to explain…

She'd freak out! She'd be terrified! She'd scream, cry, try to run away… everything he'd ever feared, basically. He didn't want her to be afraid. He wished there was a way to explain to her, keep her calm long enough to explain so she wouldn't panic… but that's exactly what it was. Wishful thinking. Not realistic.

He should have accounted for this. Should have been mentally preparing exactly what he was going to do and say when she got her sight back. This was sloppy planning on his part. He sighed; he supposed he couldn't really blame her. She was human, and had grown up with humans. All she'd ever known was humans, and humans were known for their prejudice. Anything abnormal or relatively different was labeled a freak, and usually ended up dissected, or in a cage for the rest of its life. He wished it wasn't this way. Why couldn't everyone just get long?

Ah… again with the wishful thinking.

"Come out…" she urged gently. "Please. I… you're starting to scare me." He was already scaring her and he hadn't even shown himself yet! Could this possibly get any worse?

"I can't…"

Danica frowned. He didn't sound sinister. He didn't sound evil, or even mildly mischievous. He sounded… _scared_. He was scared? His voice was a bit shaky, and he spoke with so much insecurity and self-shame it was almost a tangible force in the air.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to scare you."

"I won't be scared," she out on a brave face, curiosity overtaking her mind. "I promise. You can come out."

"No…" he gulped. "I can't."

"Yes you can." She glanced around in, trying to find him. But she just made herself dizzy, what with her blurry vision and all, and shakily laid back down. "I promise, its ok. I promise. I won't be scared."

Donatello almost wanted to laugh. She'd retract that statement when she laid eyes on his green skin, his scales, his three fingered hands, his shell and his over six foot frame. She'd scream. She'd yell at him to get away. She'd cry out for her sisters, shriek for someone to save her. He felt cold inside at the very idea.

"I…"

"How 'bout this? I won't _act _scared. I can't guarantee my emotions, but I _can _control my reaction."

He took a deep breath. "Do you promise?" he felt silly, like a child, but he needed the reassurance.

Her smile was kind and sweet, and he couldn't help but admire it from afar. "On my honor."

**And there we go! Make sure to review and all that fun stuff!**


End file.
